Next-Gen VW Passat is Well Underway

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But will it be a global model?

Here’s the thing with the Volkswagen Passat: there are two different versions for two different continents. The one sold in the US was designed and built exclusively for buyers who don’t want anything fancy, but just something nice and big (read: for chubby Americans). It’s still a good car and all, but the Euro-spec Passat is for true VW enthusiasts. Even that sleek CC sedan, also available in the US, is built on the Euro Passat’s platform. And now our spy photographers have just snapped some images of the next-gen Passat testing.

Riding on the automaker’s MQB platform, which also underpins the latest Golf, the new Passat will be the largest model to be built on that global architecture. Power is expected to come from gasoline and diesel turbo engines; no V6 will be offered. A plug-in version and wagon are also coming, but the latter will be for Europe only. The big question, however, is whether this MQB-based Passat will become a global Passat in the next few years, or if there will still be a continental divide.